Official Blog of the Frederick Keys – Advanced 'A' Affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles

Guess Your Keys: Friday, March 28, 2014

Happy Friday Fans!

Spring Training is coming to a close with the O’s having their final workouts tomorrow. After that the players will be heading back north to their designated teams and we could know as early as today which players will begin the season here in Frederick.

Some more news with the Orioles, outfielder Nolan Reimold will begin the season on the 15-day DL. It isn’t a new injury or even a setback, the team is trying to make the move to put Reimold back in the field. The team however already has a healthy 25-man roster.

Nelson Cruz had a scary moment last night, taking an Alex Cobb pitch to the helmet. Cruz seemed to be fine after the CT scan came back clean last night, but he will be checked out again today by the team.

Today fans, is our final Guess Your Keys for this season. We have a special player that we wanted to keep separate from the pack. After all this Oriole prospect is a Frederick native.

Branden Kline:

courtesy: milb.com

Vitals:

Position: RHP

Age: 22

Height: 6-3

Weight: 185

More on Kline:

A Frederick native, Kline was selected Orioles in the second round of the 2012 first-year player draft, becoming the highest-drafted player in the county’s history. Dominant during his days at Governor Thomas Johnson High School, the righty posted a 0.51 ERA during his senior year.

Impressed, Boston selected Kline in the sixth round of the 2009 draft, but the long-limbed righty chose to pitch at the University of Virginia rather than jump to the professional ranks. He spent his first two years in college working out of the bullpen, serving as the Cavaliers closer in 2011. One year later, he moved to the rotation and went 6-3 in 72 innings pitched, striking out 76 and walking 31. During one stretch, he struck out 40 batters in 34 innings, while allowing only 19 hits and eight walks during that span.

Touted as the Orioles 20th overall prospect according to Baseball America, Kline missed the majority of the 2013 season after injuring his right ankle during a conditioning drill. He underwent season-ending surgery in May, logging only 35.1 innings with Low-A Delmarva. He went 1-2 with a 5.86 ERA. Kline returned to action in October, pitching in 10 games for the Surprise Saguaros of the Arizona Fall League.

Unlocking the Keys authors

Meta

The following are trademarks or service marks of Major League Baseball entities and may be used only with permission of Major League Baseball Properties, Inc. or the relevant Major League Baseball entity: Major League, Major League Baseball, MLB, the silhouetted batter logo, World Series, National League, American League, Division Series, League Championship Series, All-Star Game, and the names, nicknames, logos, uniform designs, color combinations, and slogans designating the Major League Baseball clubs and entities, and their respective mascots, events and exhibitions.